What Would Henry Burton Do?

While I'm watching the current presidential campaign unfold, I can't help but think sometimes of Henry Burton, the fictional worker for a fictional Jack Stanton campaign in the Joe Klein novel Primary Colors.

You've probably either read the book, seen the movie, or are at least aware of the subject matter. If so, you know that Burton's work on the Stanton campaign in the world of fiction is said to be based on the work of George Stephanopoulos during the 1992 Bill Clinton run for the White House. Henry Burton is a good and decent guy who is thrust into the world of bigtime politics because he gets the impression that Stanton, unlike so many other politicians, genuinely cares about the common man and will work for the best interests of such people. Burton's journey through an ultimately victorious national campaign leaves him feeling confused, compromised and disheartened. You can't help but like Henry, and you feel for him throughout the conflict he faces.

With everything that has happened to the John McCain team in the last few weeks, I'm picturing a Burton-like presence out there on the campaign trail somewhere. This person got onboard for similar reasons. They saw the war hero who lived through the hell of a POW experience and then served his country once again in the US senate. McCain seemed kindly and devoted to our young go-getter, a man worthy of working long hours for in hopes of his victory. And so our committed campaign worker threw himself head-first into a ride on the Straight Talk Express.

I'm going to speculate what the last few weeks have been like for this person, and since the fictional Henry Burton, played by actor Adrian Lester in the film version, is a familiar image, you may want to use him in your head as things here play out. Of course, Lester is black and the McCain campaign is whiter than a bridal gown sale at Filene's Basement, so who you picture is up to you.

The Palin Announcement- Henry has spent the summer working tirelessly, getting very little sleep in his hotel rooms, but remaining committed. He watched the democrats in Denver each night with members of the McCain team, and joined them in speculating about how easy they will be to defeat in November. With the democrats reaching their finale, Henry watches Barak Obama address 80,000 wildly enthusiastic fans in a football stadium. "Holy Shit", he exclaims as the crowd on television responds like nothing he has ever seen in any political race in his life. Looking around the room to see everyone staring at him, he stammers, "I mean, uhm, holy shit, what an asshole that guy is." Quietly in his room that night, Henry wonders what his campaign can do to compete with the spectacle he has just watched on television.

But Senator McCain is announcing his VP choice tomorrow. Henry heard loud conversations coming from behind closed doors earlier that week with the name "Lieberman" said many times loudly by the senator. The former VP candidate for the democrats is coming on board for the republicans, and Henry thinks that this non-partisan move will be seen as one of the boldest moves ever in presidential politics.

The next day, the senator steps to the podium to announce that Sarah Palin is his choice. "Who", Henry says with a look of deep confusion on his face.

Team members tell Henry how he and everyone else should be thrilled to have such a "maverick" and true conservative on the ticket with McCain. He listens to Palin talk, but is still stunned. That night in his room, he fires up his laptop and begins to research Palin. For the first time on the road that summer, Henry begins to survey the contents of the mini-bar in his hotel room.

The Convention- After a painful hangover makes the bus ride to St. Paul a living nightmare, Henry gets it together for the pageantry of the convention. Palin, who has never given a national speech in her career and is largely unknown, gets a standing ovation that causes delays on the television broadcasts. Henry's brow begins to crinkle. Palin then makes remarks that belittle the work of community organizers. Henry held a very similar position back in his home town after college. He can suddenly taste the burning feeling that the bottle of vodka back in his room will provide later that night.

Palin Talks to Gibson- While the campaign has scrambled to deal with a number of "attacks from the liberal press" pertaining to Palin, the team has marched forward. And when an evil member of the press is finally allowed access to their exciting vp candidate, anticipation is running high. Henry and his co-workers gather in their hotel room to watch ABC's Charles Gibson interview Palin. Strangely, during a segment when Palin is exaplaining to Gibson how her state is only 51 miles from Russia, Henry violently chokes on his room service meal, forcing a fellow campaign worker to perform the heimlich maneuver on him. Henry is fine afterwards, but later that night the person in the room next to him keeps hearing the phrase "Stop calling him Charlie" over and over.

Economic Catastrophe- Henry had spent the weekend contributing to a speech that the senator was to give, and listens proudly as he claims that the basic elements of the American economy are very solid. Later, as the McCain team is gathered around the television watching the reporting of huge Wall Street firms folding, someone notices that Henry is mising. Wanting his optimism and his help on putting a positive spin on these events for the campaign, they dispatch a young worker to Henry's room. Their phone soon rings, and the young worker has a question. "Henry's not moving, and what are absinthe and Vicodin", he asks.

Okay, so our Henry probably doesn't have it that bad. But things have been pretty disastrous for McCain over the last few weeks. The convention bounce and the ignorant bliss over Palin have been the only sources of optimism, but they went away in a hurry. And somewhere out on the road, there is likely a guy who is accepting his daily talking points with a forced smile and wondering how much worse it can get. He cringes everytime that Palin opens her mouth and knows full well why reporters are not allowed access. He heard about the suspension of the campaign, but knew that there were no altruistic or patriotic motives behind it. He delivers messages that he can no longer bring himself to question, because any serious analysis is too painful. His optimism is gone. He no longer speculates about the high-paying job in D.C. come January, because he will likely be e-mailing resumes out on November 5.

I truly do feel for this guy, whoever he is. I can only imagine how difficult each day has been recently, and I'm sure he'll have a huge meltdown when it's all over. That said, I still hope his candidate goes down in flames.